“Home Depot is the second big-box retailer to open in the center,” said Michael Huntley, the city’s community and economic development director. “Costco moved from Montebello and opened up here about a week and a half ago.”

All of the businesses are expected to be up and running by the first quarter of 2019. Monterey Park Market Place has taken nearly 30 years to develop, according to Huntley.

“The property was once part of a landfill,” he said. “There was some cleanup involved and it took 20 years before the EPA could say the site was clean. The current developer, M&M Realty Partners, has been working on the site for 11 years. The EPA sold the property to them about three years ago. This will bring solid sales and property tax revenue to the city.”

A new Home Depot is opening in Monterey Park, Calif., on Thursday June 14, 2018. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Employees prepare for the upcoming grand opening of the new Home Depot in Monterey Park, Calif., on Wednesday, June 13, 2018. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

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Employees prepare for the upcoming grand opening of the new Home Depot in Monterey Park, Calif., on Wednesday, June 13, 2018. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

A new Home Depot is opening in Monterey Park, Calif., on Thursday June 14, 2018. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

A new Home Depot is opening in Monterey Park, Calif., on Thursday June 14, 2018. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Employees prepare for the upcoming grand opening of the new Home Depot in Monterey Park, Calif., on Wednesday, June 13, 2018. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Employees prepare for the upcoming grand opening of the new Home Depot in Monterey Park, Calif., on Wednesday, June 13, 2018. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Employee Crystal Munoz polishes the bbq’s as they prepare for the upcoming grand opening of the new Home Depot in Monterey Park, Calif., on Wednesday, June 13, 2018. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Employees prepare for the upcoming grand opening of the new Home Depot in Monterey Park, Calif., on Wednesday, June 13, 2018. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

A new Home Depot is opening in Monterey Park, Calif., on Wednesday, June 13, 2018. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Employees prepare for the upcoming grand opening of the new Home Depot in Monterey Park, Calif., on Wednesday, June 13, 2018. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

A new Home Depot is opening in Monterey Park, Calif., on Thursday June 14, 2018. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

A new Home Depot is opening in Monterey Park, Calif., on Thursday June 14, 2018. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Employees prepare for the upcoming grand opening of the new Home Depot in Monterey Park, Calif., on Wednesday, June 13, 2018. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Fifty new employees hired

The new Home Depot will employ nearly 190 workers, including 50 new hires. Some employees were transferred from another Home Depot in Pico Rivera that recently closed.

“The last new store we opened was in Stamford, Conn., and we had about 800 come through that store on opening day,” said Lupe Diaz, a district manager for the home improvement chain. “I would not be surprised if we doubled that number in Monterey Park.”

Thursday’s grand opening will kick off at 6 a.m. and run until 10 p.m.

A doubled-edged sword?

Having a Costco next door will undoubtedly boost business, Diaz said. But that may be a double-edged sword.

“Their customers are already parking in our parking lot, and it’s out of control,” she said. “Costco will definitely bring in more customers … but we’ll have to see how it all works out. Yesterday I turned down about 15 to 20 customers who walked over and thought we were already open.”

In February, Home Depot announced it would be hiring 2,000 permanent part-time and seasonal positions at its Southern California stores and distribution centers. The hiring spree was part of the company’s push to bring on 80,000 additional workers to keep pace with its busiest selling season, which runs from late March to late June.

“This is definitely the quarter where our gardening department takes off,” Diaz said. “The weather is great and people just want to get outdoors and do gardening, landscaping, home repairs — you name it. We made a huge investment to hire earlier so we would be ready for when sales really take off.”

A hefty investment

Home Depot announced late last year that it is investing $1.2 billion back into its supply chain with equipment, technology and infrastructure across its network to meet the changing demands of current and future customers. The company operates 13 California distribution centers in such locations as La Mirada, Ontario, Redlands and Mira Loma.

Home Depot has more than 2,200 stores companywide, including 232 in California. The company posted a profit of more than $8.6 billion for fiscal 2017.

Kevin Smith handles business news and editing for the Southern California News Group, which includes 11 newspapers, websites and social media channels. He covers everything from employment, technology and housing to retail, corporate mergers and business-based apps. Kevin often writes stories that highlight the local impact of trends occurring nationwide. And the focus is always to shed light on why those issues matter to readers in Southern California.

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